Research finds antibiotics may fight cancer

NEW YORK A new class of antibiotics may also fight cancer, according to research published in an online scientific journal.

In a study published in PLoS One, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Medicine found that thiazole antibiotics may block FoxM1, a cellular protein produced in cancer cells. The drugs may also block proteasomes, which cells use to discard unused proteins.

“Since certain types of cancer may rely on a functional proteasome for growth, inhibition of proteasome activity would selectively kill these tumors,” the authors wrote.